1969–70 Boston Bruins
Stanley Cup champions
Division2nd East
1969–70 record40–17–19
Home record27–3–8
Road record13–14–11
Goals for277 (1st)
Goals against216 (6th)
Team information
General managerMilt Schmidt
CoachHarry Sinden
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsJohnny Bucyk
Phil Esposito
Ed Westfall
ArenaBoston Garden
Team leaders
GoalsPhil Esposito (43)
AssistsBobby Orr (87)
PointsBobby Orr (120)
Penalty minutesBobby Orr (125)
WinsGerry Cheevers (24)
Goals against averageGerry Cheevers (2.72)

The 1969–70 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 46th season in the NHL. The Bruins were coming off of a successful season in 1968–69, as they finished with a franchise record 100 points, sitting in 2nd place in the Eastern Division, however, they would lose to the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Division finals. This year, the Bruins would go all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and win the Stanley Cup.

Regular season

The year was marred by an infamous incident in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, when veteran Ted Green had an ugly stick fight with Wayne Maki of the Blues. Green suffered a fractured skull and a brain injury as a result of the fight, necessitating a permanent steel plate put in his head and missing the entirety of the season. Both were charged with assault as a result of the incident, the first time NHL players faced criminal charges as a result of on-ice violence, and were eventually acquitted.[1]

Boston got off to a quick start, going unbeaten in their first 7 games (6–0–1), which immediately was followed by a 5-game winless streak. The Bruins though would snap out of their mini-slump, and never have a 2-game losing streak for the remainder of the season, finishing the year with a 40–17–19 record, earning 99 points, which tied the Chicago Black Hawks for 1st place in the Eastern Division. Chicago was awarded 1st place though due to having more wins than Boston, as the Hawks recorded 45.

Bobby Orr had a breakout season, leading the league with 120 points, becoming the first defenseman in league history to record over 100 points, while setting an NHL record with 87 assists. Orr also scored 33 goals, which also was a record by a defenseman. Orr also provided toughness, leading the Bruins with 125 PIM. Phil Esposito had another very strong season, scoring 43 goals and earning 99 points, while John McKenzie registered 70 points. Thirty-four-year-old John Bucyk scored a career high 31 goals and tied his career best with 69 points.

In goal, Gerry Cheevers received the majority of playing time, winning a team high 24 games, and having a team best 2.72 GAA and 4 shutouts. Eddie Johnston was his backup, as he won 16 games, had a 2.98 GAA, and 3 shutouts.

Season standings

East Division[2]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Chicago Black Hawks7645229250170+8099
2Boston Bruins76401719277216+6199
3Detroit Red Wings76402115246199+4795
4New York Rangers76382216246189+5792
5Montreal Canadiens76382216244201+4392
6Toronto Maple Leafs76293413222242−2071

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 12New York Rangers1–2Boston Bruins1–0–02
2October 15Oakland Seals0–6Boston Bruins2–0–04
3October 18Boston Bruins3–3Pittsburgh Penguins2–0–15
4October 19Pittsburgh Penguins0–4Boston Bruins3–0–17
5October 22Boston Bruins3–2Minnesota North Stars4–0–19
6October 24Boston Bruins4–2Oakland Seals5–0–111
7October 25Boston Bruins3–2Los Angeles Kings6–0–113
8October 29Boston Bruins2–4Toronto Maple Leafs6–1–113
9November 1Boston Bruins2–9Montreal Canadiens6–2–113
10November 2Toronto Maple Leafs4–4Boston Bruins6–2–214
11November 5St. Louis Blues4–4Boston Bruins6–2–315
12November 8Boston Bruins2–3Detroit Red Wings6–3–315
13November 10Oakland Seals3–8Boston Bruins7–3–317
14November 13Detroit Red Wings1–3Boston Bruins8–3–319
15November 15New York Rangers6–5Boston Bruins8–4–319
16November 16Los Angeles Kings4–7Boston Bruins9–4–321
17November 21Boston Bruins2–2Chicago Black Hawks9–4–422
18November 23Montreal Canadiens2–2Boston Bruins9–4–523
19November 26Boston Bruins0–3New York Rangers9–5–523
20November 27Philadelphia Flyers4–6Boston Bruins10–5–525
21November 29Boston Bruins2–2Montreal Canadiens10–5–626
22November 30Toronto Maple Leafs1–4Boston Bruins11–5–628
23December 4Boston Bruins4–4Detroit Red Wings11–5–729
24December 6Chicago Black Hawks1–6Boston Bruins12–5–731
25December 7Minnesota North Stars2–2Boston Bruins12–5–832
26December 10Boston Bruins2–5New York Rangers12–6–832
27December 11New York Rangers1–2Boston Bruins13–6–834
28December 13Boston Bruins5–3Philadelphia Flyers14–6–836
29December 14Pittsburgh Penguins1–2Boston Bruins15–6–838
30December 18Boston Bruins3–3St. Louis Blues15–6–939
31December 20Boston Bruins6–4Pittsburgh Penguins16–6–941
32December 21Montreal Canadiens5–2Boston Bruins16–7–941
33December 25Los Angeles Kings1–7Boston Bruins17–7–943
34December 28Boston Bruins5–4Philadelphia Flyers18–7–945
35December 31Boston Bruins1–5Detroit Red Wings18–8–945
36January 3Boston Bruins6–2Los Angeles Kings19–8–947
37January 7Boston Bruins6–1Oakland Seals20–8–949
38January 10Boston Bruins3–4Toronto Maple Leafs20–9–949
39January 11Oakland Seals3–6Boston Bruins21–9–951
40January 15Los Angeles Kings3–6Boston Bruins22–9–953
41January 17Chicago Black Hawks1–0Boston Bruins22–10–953
42January 18Montreal Canadiens3–6Boston Bruins23–10–955
43January 22Philadelphia Flyers3–3Boston Bruins23–10–1056
44January 24Boston Bruins1–8New York Rangers23–11–1056
45January 25Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Boston Bruins24–11–1058
46January 29Minnesota North Stars5–6Boston Bruins25–11–1060
47January 31Boston Bruins3–3Montreal Canadiens25–11–1161
48February 1Toronto Maple Leafs6–7Boston Bruins26–11–1163
49February 4Boston Bruins4–8Chicago Black Hawks26–12–1163
50February 5Philadelphia Flyers1–5Boston Bruins27–12–1165
51February 7Detroit Red Wings2–2Boston Bruins27–12–1266
52February 8St. Louis Blues1–7Boston Bruins28–12–1268
53February 11Boston Bruins3–2St. Louis Blues29–12–1270
54February 14Boston Bruins3–0Pittsburgh Penguins30–12–1272
55February 17Boston Bruins3–3Oakland Seals30–12–1373
56February 18Boston Bruins5–5Los Angeles Kings30–12–1474
57February 21Boston Bruins4–2Minnesota North Stars31–12–1476
58February 22Boston Bruins3–6Chicago Black Hawks31–13–1476
59February 26New York Rangers3–5Boston Bruins32–13–1478
60February 28Chicago Black Hawks0–3Boston Bruins33–13–1480
61March 1St. Louis Blues1–3Boston Bruins34–13–1482
62March 4Boston Bruins1–3St. Louis Blues34–14–1482
63March 7Boston Bruins5–5Philadelphia Flyers34–14–1583
64March 8Montreal Canadiens0–2Boston Bruins35–14–1585
65March 11Boston Bruins0–0Chicago Black Hawks35–14–1686
66March 14Boston Bruins1–2Toronto Maple Leafs35–15–1686
67March 15Detroit Red Wings5–5Boston Bruins35–15–1787
68March 19Chicago Black Hawks1–3Boston Bruins36–15–1789
69March 21Boston Bruins4–5Minnesota North Stars36–16–1789
70March 22Minnesota North Stars0–5Boston Bruins37–16–1791
71March 25Boston Bruins3–1New York Rangers38–16–1793
72March 28Detroit Red Wings5–5Boston Bruins38–16–1894
73March 29Boston Bruins2–2Detroit Red Wings38–16–1995
74April 1Boston Bruins3–6Montreal Canadiens38–17–1995
75April 4Boston Bruins4–2Toronto Maple Leafs39–17–1997
76April 5Toronto Maple Leafs1–3Boston Bruins40–17–1999

Playoffs

In the playoffs, Boston faced the New York Rangers in the quarterfinals, which finished in 4th place in the Eastern Division with 92 points, seven less than the Bruins. The series opened at the Boston Garden, and the Bruins continued their winning ways at home, taking the first two games to take an early series lead. The series then moved to Madison Square Garden in New York for the next two games, and the Rangers responded with two close wins, tying the series up at two games each. Boston returned home for game 5, and took a 3–2 series lead with a hard-fought 3–2 win, going on to beat the Rangers in game 6 on the road 4–1 to advance to the Eastern Division finals.

The Bruins opponent for the division finals was the Chicago Black Hawks, which finished with 99 points (the same as Boston, but with more wins, so Chicago was awarded home ice for the series). Boston surprised the Chicago fans by taking the first two games held at Chicago Stadium with relative ease to take a 2–0 series lead. Boston then won game 3 by a 5–2 score at the Boston Garden, taking a commanding 3–0 lead in the series. The Black Hawks kept game 4 close, but lost the game 5–4, as Boston swept Chicago to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1958.

Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues

Boston faced the winner of the Western Division, the St. Louis Blues, making its 3rd straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance. The Blues had been swept by the Montreal Canadiens in both their previous appearances in the Finals. St. Louis defeated the Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins to reach the Finals. The series opened at the St. Louis Arena, and the Bruins had no problems at all in their first two games, defeating the Blues by scores of 6–1 and 6–2 to take a 2–0 series lead. The series shifted to Boston for the next two games, and the Bruins dominated game 3, winning 4–1. St. Louis forced the 4th game into sudden death; however the Bruins, on an overtime goal by Bobby Orr, won 4–3, thus winning an NHL record 10th straight playoff game and their first Stanley Cup since 1941. The still photo of Orr flying through the air after scoring "The Goal" — he had been tripped in the act of shooting by Blues defenseman Noel Picard — became one of the most iconic images of hockey history, and was the basis of a bronze sculpture[4] of the event outside the TD Garden's main entrance in 2010, the date of the event's 40th anniversary.

Boston Bruins 4, New York Rangers 2

#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 8New York Rangers2–8Boston Bruins1–0
2April 9New York Rangers3–5Boston Bruins2–0
3April 11Boston Bruins3–4New York Rangers2–1
4April 12Boston Bruins2–4New York Rangers2–2
5April 14New York Rangers2–3Boston Bruins3–2
6April 16Boston Bruins4–1New York Rangers4–2

Boston Bruins 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 19Boston Bruins6–3Chicago Black Hawks1–0
2April 21Boston Bruins4–1Chicago Black Hawks2–0
3April 23Chicago Black Hawks2–5Boston Bruins3–0
4April 26Chicago Black Hawks4–5Boston Bruins4–0

Boston Bruins 4, St. Louis Blues 0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1May 3Boston Bruins6–1St. Louis Blues1–0
2May 5Boston Bruins6–2St. Louis Blues2–0
3May 7St. Louis Blues1–4Boston Bruins3–0
4May 10St. Louis Blues3–4Boston Bruins4–0

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Bobby OrrD7633871201251143
Phil EspositoC76435699501815
John McKenzieRW72294170114916
John BucykLW76313869131406
Fred StanfieldLW73233558141303
Ken HodgeRW7225295487605
Derek SandersonC50182341118552
Ed WestfallD/RW7214223628000
Wayne CashmanLW709263579001
Wayne CarletonLW426192523001
Dallas SmithD7571724119111
Jim LorentzC/RW687162330200
Garnet BaileyLW5811112282202
Don AwreyD7331013120000
Don MarcotteLW35931214001
Rick SmithD69281065001
Gary DoakD4417863001
Ron MurphyLW202578002
Jim HarrisonC2331416010
Bill SpeerD271344000
Eddie JohnstonG370222000
Tom WebsterRW20112000
Nick BeverleyD20002000
Gerry CheeversG410004000
Bill LesukLW30000000
Frank SpringRW10000000
Barry WilkinsD60002000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Gerry Cheevers23844124881082.724
Eddie Johnston217637169111082.983
Team:4560764017192162.847

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Phil EspositoC1413142716402
Bobby OrrD149112014312
John BucykLW14118192401
John McKenzieRW145121735003
Fred StanfieldLW14412166200
Ken HodgeRW14310137001
Wayne CashmanLW1454950002
Derek SandersonC1454972120
Ed WestfallD/RW143584011
Wayne CarletonLW1424614000
Don AwreyD1405532000
Rick SmithD1413417000
Dallas SmithD1403319000
Don MarcotteLW1420211010
Jim LorentzC/RW111014000
Bill SpeerD81014000
Gerry CheeversG130112000
Gary DoakD80009000
Eddie JohnstonG10002000
Bill LesukLW20000000
Danny SchockLW10000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Gerry Cheevers78113121292.230
Eddie Johnston6010144.000
Team:84114122332.350

[5]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Draft picks

Boston's draft picks at the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
13Don Tannahill CanadaNiagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
14Frank Spring CanadaEdmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
111Ivan Boldirev YugoslaviaOshawa Generals (OHA)
222Art Quoquochi CanadaMontreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)
334Nels Jacobson CanadaWinnipeg Jets (WCHA)
446Ron Fairbrother CanadaSaskatoon Blades (WCHL)
558Jeremy Wright CanadaCalgary Centennials (WCHL)
669Jim Jones CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHA)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bruins' Marty McSorley charged with assault". CBC. March 8, 2000. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  2. ↑ "1969–1970 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  3. ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Orr statue unveiled: In flight forever". NHL.com. May 10, 2010.
  5. ↑ "1969-70 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
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